Forming new company

HTC's smartphone business has been on shaky ground for a while now, as the company works to build its user base back up. But while its mobile efforts may be a work in progress, HTC has found an unexpected hit in the form of its first VR headset, the HTC Vive. Will that ultimately help prop HTC up, or will the Vive eventually go its own way, leaving HTC's phones behind? Tech fans and investors alike are wondering just that, and their speculation has sent the company's stock sliding.The big question is whether or not the Vive will remain a product sold by the same HTC that builds smartphones, or if we might see the creation of a spin-off company that picks up HTC's virtual reality efforts – the Vive included. Back in January, HTC was quick to deny reports that it would do just that, and rejected claims that such a spin-off business – one rumored to be co-owned by both HTC and CEO Cher Wang – was in the works.But when HTC said “no,” did it really mean … [Read more...] about HTC stock prices dip as firm sets up new company for tech development

Having found success for itself on the Internet-crazy stock market of the late 1990s, Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq: LCOS) is now reaching out to help find funding for online start-up companies. The search engine operator this week founded Lycos Ventures L.P., a venture capital fund that pools money from a handful of Internet investors.The Waltham, Massachusetts-based portal and online community said that it would contribute $10 million (US$) to the fund, with the rest coming from partners, Bear Stearns, Mellon Ventures, Mirae Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Vulcan Ventures and others.Lycos says it will be choosy about which companies it invests in, planning to support fledgling firms that could have a strategic benefit to Lycos in the future. By offering start-up cash alongside its usual technology, content and commercial agreements and partnership options, Lycos hopes to be a one-stop shop for these new companies.With nearly 50 percent of Internet users visiting Lycos sites each month, … [Read more...] about Lycos Forms New Venture Capital Fund

Team Bondi is no more and Whore of the Orient is dead as well, but the legacy of the Australian L.A. Noire dev lives on now in the newly formed Intuitive Game Studios, MCV reports. The newly formed Sydney-based indie is headed up by two Bondi vets: L.A. Noire design lead Alex Carlyle and Noire storyboard collaborator Kelly Baigent.The Team Bondi folks haven’t had the easiest time since the release of L.A. Noire in 2011. Rockstar Games cut ties with the studio after allegations surfaced that writer/director Brendan McNamara subjected the team to harsh working conditions. The studio folded and was eventually absorbed into KMM, a multimedia production company that is partially owned by Mad Max creator George Miller.KMM set the former Bondi team to work on Whore of the Orient, a period piece that unfortunately never made it far enough into production for anyone outside of the studio to see and report on it. KMM reportedly laid off the Bondi staff in … [Read more...] about L.A. Noire devs form new indie, Intuitive Game Studios

Former Infinity Ward President Jason West and CEO Vincent Zampella have entered into negotiations with Electronic Arts to form their own game studio, Respawn Entertainment, according to the LA Times.West and Zampella have had a busy six months. First, they release the insanely successful Modern Warfare 2, earning over $1 billion, and propelling the game into the third spot of top selling U.S games. Then in March, everything changed. Activision Blizzard Inc. fired the duo, citing insubordination and breach of contract. Activision claimed that the pair were deliberately slowing development of games, while seeking the capital to form their own, independent company. West and Zampella claim the firing came as a shock to both, and that the move by Activision was to deny them royalties they owed them. And then the lawsuits began.West and Zampella sued Activision for $36 million, claiming that they had been ousted to avoid paying royalties, and that Activision had been looking for a way … [Read more...] about Ousted Infinity Ward Founders Form New Company

Chips from Intel Corporation may power the majority of desktop and notebook computers, but despite substantial investment and lots of big talk, the company is essentially a non-entity in the world of mobile phones and tablet computing, where devices powered by power-sipping chips based on designs from ARM rule the industry. Now, Intel is going to try—again—to get its foot in the mobile industry, announcing a new Mobile and Communications Group headed up by current executives who came to the company with experience from Infineon and Apple.As reported by Fortune, the new unit will be formed by reorganizing four of Intel’s existing divisions: mobile communications, netbook and tablet, mobile wireless, and ultra mobility. The reorg is designed to increase Intel’s operational and design efficiency, as well as enable clearly communication between the groups, which often have overlapping goals. However, it’s not clear whether streamlining its mobile organization … [Read more...] about Intel forms new mobile unit to focus on phones, tablets

Data Analysis MU cancer scientists form new company with international pharmaceutical firmUniversity of Missouri leaders celebrated a nanomedicine milestone today as they announced the creation of a new drug development company. The new company forms a partnership between university researchers and an international pharmaceutical firm to advance testing of a potential cancer treatment created at MU. Shasun Pharmaceuticals Ltd., one of the world's leading suppliers of ibuprofen, formed the new company in partnership with MU nanomedicine experts Kattesh Katti, PhD, and Raghuraman Kannan, PhD. The scientists are developing a promising prostate cancer treatment that uses gold nanoparticles they created at the university. The new company will continue research and testing that is required for the treatment to receive approval for use in humans. "MU brings many strengths to this new partnership, which will allow us to clinically translate the unique nanotechnology developed by Drs. Katti … [Read more...] about MU cancer scientists form new company with international pharmaceutical firm

CDC has made another proposal to buy Onyx following its failed attempt in January. At the same time, it announced plans to form a new company to manage the various enterprise applications under the corporate umbrella.While the corporate restructuring is not directly related to its new offer for Onyx, CDC hopes it will sweeten the pot for reluctant shareholders."There are not that many natural synergies between online games, mobile applications and the enterprise markets," explains Scot McLeod, senior vice president of marketing for CDC, referring to the many diverse companies the Hong Kong based firm owns."We believe separating ourselves as an enterprise application provider and setting a new course of direction would be best for us and our shareholders and customers," he told CRM Buyer.The main reason for the failure of CDC's January was not so much the financials of the proposed transaction as the value proposition the company as a whole offered -- or rather, didn't, said Nucleus … [Read more...] about CDC Courts Onyx Again; Outlines Plan for New Company

Microsoft has formed a new Media/Entertainment & Technology Convergence Group, a move analysts say is calculated to build trust between the Redmond, Washington, technology giant and the media and entertainment industries."Clearly Microsoft is trying to reach out to the companies that own rights to digital media because having that media compatible with its technology is critical to ensuring its adoption," Ross Rubin, director for industry analysis for the The NPD Group in New York City told TechNewsWorld.To head up the new group, Microsoft is bringing in some Hollywood brass: Blair Westlake, former chairman of the Universal Television & Networks Group."They've brought in a high-level entertainment exec who they think can make the deals that can secure the content for initially, their music service, but, more generally, to get support for Microsoft as a technology platform for digital audio and video," Rob Helm, director of research for Directions on Microsoft in Kirkland, … [Read more...] about Microsoft Forms New Entertainment Convergence Group

Former Red Hat and Cygnus Solutions executives Kim Knuttila and Eric Troan announced yesterday that they had formed Specifix, an open-source company producing Linux solutions.The new company brings together other executives and experts from the Linux and GNU open-source development tools communities.Its primary focus right now is Conary, a technology for building, deploying and managing a single Linux code base across an unlimited number of configurations and hardware platforms.The Specifix management team has deep experience in Linux, GNU tools and open-source development. Knuttila, the company's CEO, has just left Red Hat, where he was the VP of Engineering Services. While there, he managed the former Cygnus business unit, which delivered open-source and embedded Linux solutions.Previously, Knutilla was VP of engineering with Cygnus Solutions when it was acquired by Red Hat in 1999. He had joined the company in 1995 after leaving IBM, where he was a key contributor in the C/C++ tools … [Read more...] about Linux Execs Start New Company

Two main representatives of the Linux community -- Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and Free Standards Group (FSG) -- have merged to form the Linux Foundation. The group is supported by several major firms, including Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, NEC, Novell and Oracle, which serve as founding platinum members.OSDL and FSG first formally discussed the idea at the OSDL meeting in Japan two months ago, and quickly approved the foundation at a special board meeting shortly thereafter, noted James Bottomley, chief technology officer for SteelEye Technology and OSDL board member."We are shooting for early February to have everything finalized," he told LinuxInsider.The speedy implementation is a reflection of the eagerness of both sides to join forces, Bottomley said."There will be several benefits realized from this merger," he noted, adding that the primary reason for the foundation was to act as a single voice for Linux users and providers."From the perspective of the … [Read more...] about Linux Heavyweights Form New Foundation